There are known in the art a large variety of devices which were designed to sole the problem of motorcar theft by immobilizing the gearshift stick by locking it, for example, to the steering wheel or to a pedal of the vehicle. These locking devices generally comprise a rod or chain provided with suitable locking means.
Some of these devices relate back to the beginning of the century. Apparently, not even one of the suggested arrangements succeeded in deterring or preventing car theft, and their use was abandoned. Among the most old-fashioned devices, which might seem particularly relevant in the context of the present invention, were those disclosed in the following publications: U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,048,783 filed July 27, 1911; 1,338,131 (May 22, 1919) and 1,423,955 (May 28, 1921). Other devices disclosed in the patent literature include U.K. Pat. Nos. 997,868 (July 18, 1963) and 1,014,940 (Sept. 2, 1963), and German Pat. No. 27 36 552 (Aug. 13, 1977). These devices generally provide for the locking of the gearshift lever against a fixed, stationary component or portion of the car body.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,048,783, for example, discloses means for immobilizing the gear shift lever but was not at all originally concerned with car theft. In those early days of automotive vehicles, a problem of accidents existed, where open-cabin automobiles used to be left on the street with the engine running (as the "starter" had not yet been invented), and children or other unauthorized persons were tempted to just step in and drive away. This device includes an arm riveted to the frame of the car and a hinged, U-shaped hasp pivotably mounted on the arm. The hasp is adapted to fold back to clear the way for the normal manipulation of the gear lever. After the hasp is folded about the gear shift lever, an additional safety lock is required to secure the hasp in the closed orientation. This construction is bulky and cumbersome.
There is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 1,423,955 a locking device for the emergency brake or gear shift lever of an automobile including a plate affixed to the front portion of the driver's seat, to which is hingedly affixed a cylindrical body. Affixed to the cylindrical body is a shank to which, in turn, a padlock is affixed. Mounted about the hinge is a heavy spring which serves to urge the padlock to rest perpendicular to and adjacent the driver's seat when not in use.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,338,131 discloses a similar hinged locking device affixed to the driver's seat or on the dashboard and hinged thereto for folding during driving. The device includes a plate affixed to the car body and a hasp pivotably attached thereto. The hasp includes two protruding pins at its outer end for insertion into and through a lock body.
U.K. Pat. No. 1,014,940 also discloses a hinged anti-theft device including an arm pivotably mounted to the floor of the vehicle, the other end of the arm being provided with means for engaging the gearshift lever, preferably the shackle of a padlock. The bracket is pivotably mounted or articulated in order to permit disengagement of the arm from the lever. This is necessary because the shackle is affixed to the body of the vehicle (via the arm), the lock body being attached thereto during locking. Due to this construction, the only place this locking arrangement can be mounted is towards the rear of the vehicle, between the seats. This is so because if the pivotable bracket were mounted at the side of the gear-change lever, the lever would be movable together with the arm, permitting shifting of the gears even in the locked orientation.
These devices also suffer from the disadvantage that they require use of both hands of the user to engage and disengage the locking mechanism, as opposed to the neat and convenient way of manipulating the device of the present invention by one hand only.
Other locking mechanisms, less relevant than the above, are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,426,861, 1,408,806, 1,309,925, Australian Pat. No. 151,373 and U.K. patent application No. 2,023,076A.
Since none of these devices or arrangements became popular or were used even on a limited scale, it can be safely stated that the technological progress in this particular art rejected the idea of having, within the confined space of the driver cabin, an additional, relatively large-sized, member that might impair routine driving; and in fact, most of the later applied inventive skill was dedicated to ways and means of concealing or removing the disturbing object in the form of a projecting locking bar, which would be in addition to, and in clear functional conflict with, the gearshift lever itself. The trend was in the direction of means other than purely mechanical, i.e., mostly electronic (computerized) systems. Most of those mechanical devices which were developed were not permanently affixed to the car body, but rather were removable during use of the car.
There exists, therefore, an element of mental daring and surprise in proposing--against the general trend--to return to a construction that was generally accepted as totally obsolete, rather than another sophisticated system of the type that has recently become so popular.